Because of the centrality of the Holy Land to the three monotheistic religions, the Middle East conflict has always captured the attention of the world and has been magnified more than strife in other locales. For this reason, the message of the Alexandria Declaration can serve as a source of inspiration and hope to other regions of conflict in the world.
Implementing the Alexandria Principles in Bethlehem:
In mid-2003, the Alexandria model was employed in the city of Bethlehem to resolve a standoff between Israelis and Palestinians that was triggered when a group of armed Palestinian fighters took over the Church of the Nativity, one of the most significant sites in Christianity. When other efforts failed, religious leaders used the principles of the Alexandria Declaration in order to contribute practical solutions that were acceptable to both sides. This was the first time that the power of religious leadership to resolve conflicts was tested during the current crisis in the Middle East, and the results demonstrated that religious cooperation can be instrumental in resolving situations that cannot be resolved by military or diplomatic means alone.
Implementing the Alexandria Principles in Cairo:
In January 2004, on the second anniversary of the Alexandria Summit, a group of 40 Islamic religious authorities gathered in Cairo to discuss the impact of Islamic anti-Semitic incitement. The participants, who included clerics who had previously supported violent acts, explored the principles of the Alexandria Declaration and expressed their readiness to reduce the incitement heard in mosques and schools the world over. Sheikh Taisir Tamimi, the leader of the Palestinian delegation, invited Rabbis Michael Melchior and Menachem Froman of Israel to address this Islamic forum, illustrating the new willingness to participate in constructive, interfaith dialogue. Within Israel, a vast spectrum of rabbinic leaders have similarly endorsed the Alexandria Declaration since its signing and are now involved in dialogue and inter-religious cooperation.
The Kaduna Declaration:
Less than a year after the signing of the Alexandria Declaration, some of its signatories, including Canon Andrew White, were asked by the State of Kaduna in Nigeria to develop a sister document adapted to that setting. Aimed at resolving the violent conflict betWeen Muslims and Christians, the Kaduna Declaration was distributed to every home in the populous State. The resulting grass-roots movement eventually led to the Kaduna Declaration being accepted as state law, and the task forces that were set up to intervene in potential flashpoints have been credited with reducing inter-ethnic violence in Kaduna by as much as 90%. The adaptation of the Alexandria Declaration to the context of Kaduna also had a positive impact upon the relationship between Israel and Nigeria, two countries with a previous history of enmity and estrangement.
The Najaf Application:
In mid-2004, the Alexandria Declaration quietly made its way to the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, to temper relations betWeen Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims just as it had resolved Muslim-Christian conflict in Nigeria. At the time, a prominent Shi'ite militia had taken shelter in the Mosque of Imam 'Ali, a Sunni holy site, and it was assumed that if American and Iraqi forces were to intervene, a bloodbath would ensue and Iran would intervene. At the request of the coalition forces, Anglican cleric Canon Andrew White arrived on the scene, the Grand Ayatolla Ali al-Husseini al Sistani was returned from exile in England, and the proposal that they worked out based on religious values resulted in a peaceful end to the siege. In this case, the principles of the Alexandria Declaration served as a guiding light that literally drew the fighters and civilians out of the mosque and back to their homes. A center was subsequently established in Baghdad to continue the implementation of the Alexandria Declaration there.
